


By the River

by Chasya



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Friendship, Memory Loss, Nostalgia, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-23 13:21:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2548997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chasya/pseuds/Chasya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I had a dream about Bucky and Steve talking after Bucky pulled Steve from the river and one of my friends made me write a fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By the River

Bucky dragged Steve to shore and deposited him on soft dirt. He watched Steve, wanting to make sure he was okay, but not really knowing why. He knew there was something familiar about him, Steve had said they knew each other, had said he was with him until the end of the line. It struck a nerve; he  _did_ know him, but it felt like images in a dream, just fuzzy enough that you can’t make out the detail. 

After a moment, Steve coughed quite a bit and water spilled out of his mouth. Bucky slowly turned and started to walk away, strangely confident, for once, that he had done the right thing. It was an odd feeling and one that he wasn’t used to. It felt….. _good_. 

“Bucky, wait!” Steve choked out. He froze. He didn’t really want to stay here, but a small part of him hoped that maybe this man could provide him with answers. His brain felt like static at this point.

“Please, Buck. Please don’t go.” 

Bucky turned and looked at Steve, still lying on the ground. “What do you want me to say?” 

Steve struggled to his feet, dusting himself off as best he could. “You don’t have to say anything. Just let me do all the talking, okay?”

*************************************************************************************

They sat there for what must have been hours, Steve filling Bucky in on everything. He told Bucky about their childhood in Brooklyn, growing up during Roaring 20s which then turned into the Depression and how they used to go around collecting cans and scrap metal together to recycle and get a few coins for shakes at their favorite diner. Steve told Bucky how so small and sickly he was growing up, that got a rueful smile of Bucky, but how Bucky was his pal and stuck by him through thick and thin, protecting him from bullys, encouraging his love of drawing. He told him all the times Bucky tried to help him meet girls but how Steve was too shy and Bucky always had enough charisma for both of them, and by the end of the night both girls were usually ready to just follow Bucky around the world. Steve talked about losing his parents, Bucky enlisting during the war and how jealous Steve was of him. 

How Steve tried out for this experiment that was successful, but how Erskine was murdered and Steve worked as a trained monkey for a while when what he really wanted to be doing was helping America win the war. He told Bucky about his capture and how Steve went behind enemy lines to get him back. He told him that they were experimenting on Bucky when Steve found him, which explained why he was able to survive the fall. The Fall. The words hung in the air for a few moments while Steve struggled to gather his thoughts and compose himself. 

“We had a lot of great times before that, though.” Steve insisted. “After I rescued you, we formed the Howling Commandos and we went on all sorts of missions to take down Hydra. We really gave them hell!” 

The entire time Steve talked, Bucky sat quietly absorbing all the information. He shifted a little bit when Steve mentioned the Commandos and Steve took that as a sign to talk a little more about that.

“We were the best of the best and we did things that your average soldier couldn’t or wouldn’t do.”

As they sat quietly by the water, Steve glanced over at Bucky. 

“You know you were always better at that. Doing the hard stuff. I did things I’m not proud of, but you were always willing to go a little further than me. I don’t know if it’s because you’re you, or because you were still trying to protect me.” 

Bucky continued to stare at the water, watching the little ripples touch the bank, not saying anything.

“Anyway, I’m glad to have you back, even if it’s not quite the way I would have planned.” 

Tentatively, Steve reached an arm over and put it around Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky flinched for just a second and Steve pulled his arm back. 

“Sorry Buck—“ 

“No, it’s fine, it’s just...I’m just not used to it, that’s all.” 

They sat in silence for a few more moments and then Bucky, very slowly and very deliberately, put his arm around Steve’s shoulder.


End file.
